Maybe at UAL...I wouldn't know.
But I can tell you that wasn't the case at TWA in the 60's. Some hired in the very late 60's (68' 69' & one class or two in 1970) spent decades on the F/E panel due to furloughes and stagnation brought on by the energy crunch and TWA's management being distracted by the creation of TWA Corp.
On the other hand, I can even remember a handful who were hired at TWA in the early 60's and were not old enough to obtain a F/E rating so they were put in the right seat.
Constellation-era.
I was very fortunate in that I had to "Check Essential" only for a year.
But I do agree the F/E seat and/or the IRO seat is the best seat in the house to observe, learn, or to point and laugh.
FF